Display device



July 4, 1933. R. w. ANDERSON ET AL 1,917,005 I DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Dec. 11, 1931 I /o /3 H /4 INVENTORS RUEBE/v MIA/V0596 0N BY MIFHAEL J KANE A'ITORN Patented July 4, 1933 UNITED STATES- REUBEN W. ANDERSON AND MICHAEL J. KANE, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

DISPLAY DEVICE Application filed December 11, 1931. Serial No. $U,3\i2.

This invention relates to merchandise display equipment and the primary obyect is to provide a novel, practical, and efficient construction of support which is partlcularly 5 suited for use in the display of small packages or envelopes such as seed packets. A further object is to provide a packet support that can be formed from a single piece of sheet material, such as card board, by being cut and folded therefrom, andin so doing the parts to be cut and folded are so designed that a maximum amount of material can be utilized from each original blank sheet. A further object is to provide a device of the character indicated which by being formable from out and creased sheet material, when about to be used, can be shipped in flat form so as to require a minimum amount of shipping space. These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a display counter or table upon which the merchandise is to be displayed and showing my improved display supports in place thereon.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on the line 22 in Fig. 1, and showing how the merchandise packets are arranged in place on the supports.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the sheet blank from which the device is to be formed, illustrating the method of cutting and creasing (or scoring) the blank before it'is folded and set up in operative position.

Fig. 1 is a perspective elevation of the blank portion shown in Fig. 3, but in a partially folded condition.

Referring to the drawing more particularly and by reference characters, A designates a table or counter upon which the goods are to be displayed. This counter is provided with a surrounding ledge or flange 5 and the inclosure therewithin is divided up into elongated chambers or spaces 6 by partitioning members 7 that are either fixed in place or loose as may be preferred.

Into each space 6 is placed one of our improved supporting devices, designated generally by the letter B, and each of these devices is made up of a blank form such as shown in Fig. 3, that has been cut, creased",

and folded into its final form as indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and i. The resulting contour of the device is such that when it is laid in place it will present a series of inclined supporting surfaces upon which the seed packets or other merchandise articles, indicated by numerals 8 in Fig. 2, may be placed, at advantageous angles and sufiiciently exposed so that they or the pictures or reading matter on them can be conveniently viewed.

The blank form, a portion of which is shown in Fig. 3, and which of course may be of any desired length, depending upon the number and length of individual packet supporting units or sections desired, is out through. on the solid black lines and is scored or creased on the various dotted lines shown and upon which folding takes place.

It may first be noted that the long parallel creases (or scores) 9 define a back wall or bottom strip 10, which, when the device is in use, rests directly upon the table orcounter A. This strip remains intact, throughout its entire length, except for a series of arcuate cuts 11 defining securing tongues 12.

Each support unit or section of the device is made up, in addition to the bottom strip 10, of triangular side walls 13 and 1 1, which continue, respectively, in side wings 15 and 16Itl1atoverlap and interlock toform the inclined front wall or supporting surface. The wings 16 are provided with foldable flaps 17 which in turn terminate in tabs 18 adapted to interlock with the tongues 12. It may here be noted that each wing 15 is provided with an angularly disposed slot 19 and the overlapping wing 16 of each unit has a notch 20 and a slit 21 which define an interlock tongue 22 for engagement in the slot 19. It will be noted that by alternating the arrangements of wings 15 and the section members 161718, on either side of the back strip 10 the various parts can so be cut and formed as to utilize a maximum portion of the blank material.

wing section 16 of the side wall 14 'is folded.

inwardly over the top of the wing 15 and the interlocking tongue member 22 isinserted in the slot 19 of the wing 15, so that the notch 20 interlocks with the lower end of the slot 19, and the slit21 engages the upper end of the slot 19 in such a manner that the slightly distorted or twisted condition of the wing 16 at this point will cause one edge of the tongue 22 at the slit 21 to engage against the edge of the material in theslit 19 so as to firmly lock the two wingsections 1516 together.

The tab 18 is now bent back and clown- 'wardly with respect to the cover flap 17 and the latter element is in turn bent down with respect to the wing section 16 so that the tab 18 may be inserted behind the tongue 12 of the back strip 10. This construction, it will readily be seen, results in a very rigid connection betweenthe various folded sections, and consequently each wedge shaped supporting-unit is capable of sustaining a number of packets such as 8 in the desired angular display positions indicated in Fig. 2.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided suchmodifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Havingnow therefore fully illustrated and described our invention, what we claim to be new and desire'to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A display rack comprising an end to end series of wedge shaped merchandise support sections formed by an elongated connecting back strip and by folded, overlapped, and interlocked lateral extensions of the strip.

2. A display rack comprising an end to end series of wedge shaped merchandise support units arranged with small ends of certain units adjacent large ends of other units and formed by a plurality of interlocked folded sections, all of which are integral with and extended from an interconnecting back strip extending the length of the rack.

3. A display rack comprising an aligned series of tapered support units arranged small end to large end throughout the series and connected by a common central back strip, extending the length of the rack, said support units being composed of interconnected lateral side wall and wing member extensions of the backstrip.

1. A display device comprising a central back strip, and pairs of interconnecting side walls and wing members extending laterally fromthe back strip forming an aligned series of inclined wedge shaped support units throughout the length of the back strip, one wing member of each pair being provided with a flap extension for closing the large end of tlie'wedge and having interlocking engagement with the back strip;

5. A display device comprising a central back strip and pairs of interconnecting side walls and wing members extending laterally from the backstrip forming a series of iii-' clined support units throughout the length of the back strip, one wing member of each pair being provided with a flap extension having interlocking engagement with the back strip, and the flap extensions of the successive pairs of side walls and wing members beingalternated at opposite sides of the back strip.

6. A display device comprising a central back strip having two longitudinal series of lateral wedge shaped extensions forming pairs of side walls ad acent the strip, and inclined overlapping wing extensions connecting the side walls of each pair, forming inclined, stepped, and parallel supporting surfaces.

1. A display device comprising a central back strip having two longitudinal series of lateral wedge shaped extensions forming pairs of side walls adjacent the strip, and inclined overlapping wing extensions connecting the side walls of each pair, forming inclined supporting surfaces, one of said wing extensionsof each pair having an end wall forming flap engaging the back strip to brace the wingextensions and side walls.

Signed at Minneapolis, in the county of ,Hennepin, and State of Minnesota, this 7th day of December, 1931. v I

' REUBEN WV. ANDERSON.

MICHAEL J. KANE. 

